Self-propelled combines can have a chassis that is supported on the ground by front, driven wheels (or a track assembly) and rear, steerable wheels. An inclined conveyor assembly, at the front end of which a harvester head can be mounted, is arranged on the front end of the combine. The harvester head can be implemented, for example, as a cutting mechanism with a mower bar and reel arranged thereabove and a downstream cross-conveying auger or a cross-conveyor belt, or as a corn picker with picking units and a cross-conveying auger. During harvesting operation, the harvester head discharges the cut-off or picked-up crop through a rear discharge opening onto the inclined conveyor assembly, which in turn conveys it into the interior of the combine, where it is threshed, separated and cleaned.
The inclined conveyor assembly can have a housing, in which a chain conveyor typically operating in an undershot mode revolves about an upper and a lower inclined conveyor roller, which are rotatably mounted on the housing. The lower inclined conveyor roller is arranged behind the discharge opening of the harvester head, and the upper inclined conveyor roller transfers the crop to a (axial or tangential) threshing drum or an accelerator roller in the combine.
Inclined conveyor assemblies with conveyor belts operating in overshot mode (DE 1 016 975 A) have also been proposed, as well as an inclined conveyor assembly with a rubber-fabric belt comprising transversely arranged steel bars that reach from above into the crop (DE 10 2007 049 839 B3, DE 10 2009 036 104 A1).
In many cases, a so-called pendulum frame is mounted at the front end of the inclined conveyor assembly. This is a frame-like element that can pivot about a (real or virtual) pendulum shaft extending horizontally and in the forward direction and on which the harvester head can be mounted, by upper hooks for example, that contact the pendulum frame from above. The pendulum frame allows a pivoting movement of the harvester head about the horizontal pendulum shaft with respect to the inclined conveyor assembly, for example when traveling on a slope. The pivoting range must be relatively large, particularly if the combine is equipped with height-adjustable front wheels that keep the actual combine and the inclined conveyor assembly horizontal when driving on a slope. In this regard, the reader is referred to prior art according to DE 100 18 211 A1 and DE 295 19 842 U1.
The previously published application DE 10 2012 200 843 A1 shows an inclined conveyor of a combine with a front pendulum frame on which a harvester head is removably mounted. The pendulum frame is mounted rotatably relative to the housing of the inclined conveyor about a pendulum shaft extending in the forward direction and carries a front inclined conveyor roller, about which an endless flexible conveying element rotates, which also rotates about a rear inclined conveyor roller.
The position of the pendulum shaft in the prior art is selected such that it runs at least approximately horizontally if actuators—pivoting the inclined conveyor about an axis of rotation parallel to the upper inclined conveyor roller—have pivoted the front end of the inclined conveyor and the harvester head to a height above the ground that corresponds to that of a customary cutting height.
A disadvantage of the orientation of the pendulum shaft in the prior art is that the distance between a discharge conveyor of the harvester head (the transverse auger in the case of a cutting mechanism) and the lower inclined conveyor roller changes considerably if the latter is rotatably but otherwise immovably mounted on the housing of the inclined conveyor, which complicates the transfer of the crop from the harvester head to the inclined conveyor. Thereby the combine is loaded with a layer of crop which is not uniform across the width of the combine, which can also lead to unsatisfactory working results there.
With reference to FIG. 6, an inclined conveyor assembly 20 according to DE 10 2012 200 843 A1 has a housing 62 in which an upper inclined conveyor roller 64 is arranged. A pendulum frame 78 is pivotably articulated by a pivot pin 80 about a horizontal pendulum shaft 76 at the front end of the inclined conveyor assembly 20. The lower inclined conveyor roller 90 is rotatably mounted on the pendulum frame 78. If the pendulum frame 78 is pivoted about the pendulum shaft 76, this results in relatively large changes of the distances between the outer ends of the lower inclined conveyor roller 90, which is marked with 90′ in the extended position, and the upper inclined conveyor roller 74. This change of distance can be absorbed only to a limited extent by the flexible conveying element according to DE 10 2012 200 843 A1, which restricts the achievable pivoting angle.
The problem also cannot be solved by a virtual pendulum shaft running through the center of the pendulum frame 78 or by a pendulum shaft on the underside of the pendulum frame, because due to the width of the inclined conveyor rollers 64, 90, the distance between the outer ends of the two inclined conveyor rollers 64, 90 is still significant.
These geometric problems also result for inclined conveyors with lower inclined conveyor rollers positioned on the housing, because then the discharge conveyor of the harvester head nearly approaches the position of the lower inclined conveyor roller 90, 90′ in FIG. 6, so that similar transfer problems result.